FIJI COUNTRY PROGRAM 2015

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Vatu-i-Ra Seascape is an area of unique ecological value located between Fiji’s two main islands that incorporate the four provinces of Bua, Ra, Lomaiviti, and Tailevu, their associated traditional fishing grounds and offshore channels. Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) is working with a diversity of partners to preserve the functional integrity of Fiji’s Vatu-i-Ra Seascape to sustain biodiversity, fisheries, and intact linkages between adjacent systems from land to sea, thereby enhancing social-ecological resilience to disturbance, and improving quality and abundance of marine resources for Fiji’s people and economy. This report highlights WCS Fiji Country Program's achievements from January to December <strong>2015</strong>, under our three main themes of Science, Management and Communication. We also highlight our engagement with national and regional policy and planning, and the links to Fiji’s national priority strategies under the NBSAP Implementation Framework 2010-2014, the National Climate Change Policy and Green Growth Framework, to enable governments and partners to assess progress towards national targets. In <strong>2015</strong>, WCS Fiji’s scientific studies focused on: • assessing the impact of periodic harvests of tabu areas on reef fish populations; • investigating the links between environmental change and waterborne bacterial disease; • understanding the links between local ecological knowledge, ecosystem services and resilience to climate change; • monitoring the impact of the MacArthur Foundation’s 10 year coastal and marine strategy; • testing the effectiveness of Locally-Managed Marine Areas (LMMAs) in Fiji with the Social-Ecological Systems Meta-Analysis Database (SESMAD) framework; and • conducting a value chain analysis of the sea cucumber fishery. In our efforts to help strengthen community-based natural resource management in the Vatu-i- Ra Seascape WCS: • continued to work with each of the nine districts in Bua Province on the development or implementation (for those completed) of district ecosystem-based management (EBM) plans; • commenced an integrated coastal management plan for Bua Province, that builds on each of the nine district EBM plans; • completed a number of management planning workshops with communities of Koro and Ovalau to support them design their island-scale EBM plans; • strengthened the skills and capacity of local women in Bua Province to develop ecofriendly livelihoods around kuta weaving, honey and virgin coconut oil; Page | 9
• supported local communities and tourism operators to explore opportunities to establish a voluntary contribution to conservation scheme around dive tourism, including the drafting of a management plan for the Vatu-i-Ra Conservation Area; • launched a women in fisheries programme focused initially on mud crab fisheries in Bua Province; and • commenced marine spatial planning with stakeholders in the Vatu-i-Ra Seascape to identify potential marine managed areas, that complement and support inshore areas, while reducing conflict between competing uses. Our communication work focused on: • building the foundation for a Vatu-i-Ra Seascape campaign, to support both inshore and offshore marine managed areas; • hosting an art and photographic expedition at the Fiji Museum to showcase the Vatu-i- Ra Seascape; • signing a Pacific broadcast deal with Fiji Television Limited (Fiji TV) to broadcast nature documentaries to 14 Pacific island countries free of charge; • extensive screening of our 26-minute documentary ‘Roots to Happiness’ to a wide range of audiences; and • eight new scientific publications, on a range of topics including shark movement patterns, methods to detect impacts of fishing within periodically harvested closures (tabus), marine spatial planning for protected areas, the recovery potential of the world’s coral reef fisheries, and securing sustainable seafood from developing countries. Lastly, WCS Fiji continued to maintain a strong presence on national committees and steering groups like the Protected Area Committee (PAC) and the Fiji Locally Management Marine Area (FLMMA) network to help achieve national objectives in biodiversity protection, protected areas, conservation planning, and sustainable fisheries. We end the year formally accepting membership on the newly formed BIOFIN Committee under the Department of Environment, and Fisheries Offshore Marine Reserve Committee under the Department of Fisheries. Page | 10
Page 1 and 2: WILDLIFE CONSERVATION SOCIETY FIJI
Page 3 and 4: THE WCS TEAM Sangeeta Mangubhai, Di
Page 5 and 6: Sirilo Dulunaqio, Community Liaison
Page 7 and 8: COLLABORATING STUDENTS WITH WCS-FIJ
Page 9: TABLE OF CONTENTS FROM THE DIRECTOR
Page 13 and 14: • What are the appropriate indica
Page 15 and 16: Investigating links between environ
Page 17 and 18: • Assessment of typhoid susceptib
Page 19 and 20: fishing effort, species and pattern
Page 21 and 22: We applied a new analytical framewo
Page 23 and 24: Monitoring the impact of the MacArt
Page 25 and 26: Sixth Expedition to the Phoenix Isl
Page 27 and 28: HIGHLIGHTS: Three districts have co
Page 29 and 30: LINKS TO NATIONAL PRIORITIES: NBSAP
Page 31 and 32: Improving Effectiveness of Inshore
Page 33 and 34: fish wardens; (iii) discuss enforce
Page 35 and 36: Supporting livelihoods and income g
Page 37 and 38: Offshore Marine Managed Areas: camp
Page 39 and 40: Kilaka Forest Conservation Area STA
Page 41 and 42: environmental issues that are relev
Page 43 and 44: FIJI RELEVANT PUBLICATIONS AND RESO

FIJI COUNTRY PROGRAM 2015

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